Eraser



Aug. 6, 1935. H. w. MAUCHER 2,010,103

ERASER Filed Jan. 23, 1955 NVENTOR TTORNEY Patented Aug. 6, 1935 ERASERHans W. Maucher, West Orange, N. 3., assignor to Eberhard Faber PencilCompany, a ccrpcration of New York 7 Application January 23, 1935,Serial No. 2,988

6 Claims.

This invention relates in general to erasers and more particularlyto'erasers especially adapted.

for attachment to pencils or caps which areused for protecting thepointed end of a pencil.

A prime object of the invention is to provide an eraser which shallembody novel and improved features of construction whereby a thin curvedand sharp edge shall be provided for making erasures so as to avoid thedifficulties usually encountered in the use of the usual cylindricaleraser mounted on the end of a pencil which frequently results inobliterating or blurrlngwritten matter adjacent the point at Whicherasure is being made.

It has been proposed to apply circular or disk erasers to pencils orpencil caps, but such erasers are objectionable in that only a portionof the periphery of the circular eraser can be effectually utilized; inorder to use the portions of the edges of such erasers at the sides ofthe pencil or cap, it is necessary to hold the pencil in practicallyhorizontal position and inconveniently close to the paper or surface onwhich the erasure is being made. It has also been proposed to provideerasers of tubular form, for example as shown in Patent No. 447,87 3,dated March 10, 1891, but such erasers are objectionable in that theerasing edges easily collapse'under pressure necessary to make erasures,and difficulty is encountered in securely attaching the eraser to apencil or pencil cap due to the flexibility of the walls of the tube.

Therefore other objects of my invention are to provide an eraser of thegeneral character described which shall embody novel and improvedfeatures of construction whereby a thin sharp annular erasing edge shallbe provided and shall be capable of use conveniently throughout thecircumference or perimeter thereof; to provide such an eraser thestructure of which shall insure a minimum of tendency of the annularerasing flange to collapse under erasing pressure; to provide such an.eraser the structure of which shall permit it to be firmly mounted on apencil or pencil cap; and to obtain other advantages and results as willbe brought out by the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which corresponding and likeparts are designated throughout the several views by the same referencecharacters;

Figure 1 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of an eraser embodyingmy invention at- Figure 3 is a top plan view of the eraser shown inFigure 2.

For the purpose of illustrating the nature of the invention, I haveshown it in combination with a lead pencil although it should beunderstood that the eraser may be independently of a pencil or may beconnected to a cap which is utilized for protecting the sharpened end ofa pencil.

Specifically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, thereference character A designates the eraser which is shown as comprisinga solid block of erasive material such as rubber. One end portion I ofthe block is solid while the other end has a longitudinally projectingan- 5 nular flange 2. This flange may be formed by a recess 3 in the endof the block, and preferably the basal perimeters at the inner and outersides 4 and 5 of the flange are less than the perimeters at the innerand outer sides 6 and 1 respectively cf the free edge of the flange.Also, the flange preferably decreases in thickness from its base to itsouter edge. With this construction, it will be observed that the flange2 flares outwardly from the solid end portion of the block. 7

The flange 2 provides a thin sharp and annular erasing edge which can beconveniently used throughout its perimeter, and in using the flange formaking erasures, the eraser need be only slightly tilted with its axisinclined only a few degrees to the vertical.

In use of the eraser, the solid end portion of the block may be grippedso as to bring a portion of the free edge of the flange into engagementwith the matter to be erased, and the thinness and sharpness of the edgeinsures against obliteration or blurring of written matter adjacent thatbeing erased. Any portion of the free edge may be utilized for makingerasures, and by successively using adjacent portions perimetral- 40 lyof the flange, a sharp edge may constantly be maintained, as indicatedat 9 by dot and dash lines in Figure 2. Preferably the plane of the freeedge of the flange is perpendicular to the axis of the block althoughthis is not necessary.

For applying the eraser to a pencil B, the pencil has a ferrule C or thelike secured to one end and providing a socket, and the solid endportion of the eraser has a straight reduced extension 8 coaxial withthe block and snugly fitted into the socket, as clearly shown in Figure2; The pencil serves as a rod like handle to permit convenient grippingand manipulation of the eraser.

The solid end portion 5 of the eraser provides a support for the erasingflange 2 and reenforces the flange against collapsing under pressureincident to making erasures. The tendency of the flange to collapse isalso restrained by the outwardly flaring relation of the flange to thesolid end portion, and by the gradually increasing thickness of theflange from its free edge to its base.

The eraser being approximately coaxial with the pencil, and the plane ofthe free edge of the erasing flange 2 being approximately perpendicularto the axis of the pencil, the eraser may be conveniently usedthroughout the perimeter of the flange 2 with a minimum of tilting ofthe pencil from a position perpendicular to the surface upon which theerasure is being made. The solid end portion l of the eraser alsoprovides for a firm and secure attachment of the eraser to a pencil orthe pencil cap, and it will be observed that the eraser may still beused even after the flange 2 has been worn away.

While the eraser is preferably approximately circular in plan View asshown in Figure 3, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat the shape of the eraser may be modified without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, an eraser comprising a solid blockof erasing material having an integral annular perimetral flangeprojecting longitudinally from one end thereof whereby said flange formsa thin erasing edge and the other solid end portion of the block servesas a'holding means and reenforces the flange against collapse.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an eraser comprising a block oferasive material one end of which is solid and the other end of whichhas a coaxial recess forming an annular longitudinally projecting flangeto provide a thin annular erasing edge.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an eraser comprising a block oferasive material one end of which is solid and the other end or" whichhas a coaxial recess forming an annular longitudinally projecting flangeto provide a thin annular erasing edge, said flange also flaringoutwardly toward said edge.

4. An eraser comprising a block of erasive material one end portion ofwhich is solid while the other end has an annular longitudinallyprojecting flange whose inside basal perimeter is less than theperimeter of the inside of its free edge and the thickness of saidflange increases from its base to its free edge.

5. An eraser comprising a block of erasive material one end portion ofwhich is solid While the other end has an annular longitudinallyprojecting flange whose inside basal perimeter is less than theperimeter oi" the inside of its free edge and the thickness of saidflange increases from its base to its free edge, said flange flaringoutwardly from said solid end portion.

6. An eraser comprising a block of erasive material one end portion ofwhich is solid while the other end has annular longitudinally projectingflange whose inside and outside basal perimeters are less than theperimeters of the inside and outside of its free edge respectively.

HANS W. MAUCHER.

